“Widening a portion of State Highway 525 north of Classic Road began in earnest this week as timber was cut and stumps cleared from the right-of-way.The work, being done by Callen Construction of Bellingham, will continue into October before wrapping up for the winter, according to Steve McCauley, Callen’s superintendent for the project. Traffic is one lane through the area, but delays are generally no more than a couple of minutes. The one-lane closure is in effect Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.Tree removal is occurring very close to the road, and trucks removing logs and debris are using one lane.Ultimately 2.25 miles of highway will be widened, but work on the road surface won’t occur until next spring. Marlin Lenssen, project engineer with the Washington Department of Transportation in Everett, said the plan is for Callen Construction to have the east side of the highway cleared and fill dirt brought in this fall so telephone companies can move their poles and lines before spring. If the weather cooperates and those activities happen as scheduled, the road surface will be torn up and replaced in three segments to reduce the impact on residents and on traffic, Lenssen said. That work probably will begin in May, weather permitting.Callen Construction bid $1.38 million for the project, but Lenssen said that figure could be increased if the contractor encounters problems, such as poor roadbed that has to be replaced.At the construction site, state DOT inspector Kamal Mahmoud said the contractor has done a good job of limiting traffic delays and inconvenience for residents there. The landowners seem pleased. So far we haven’t had any complaints, he said. “